The UK needs to become a nation that is unafraid to take risks, Rt Hon Leader of HM Opposition Kemi Badenoch told attendees at an event at Chartered Accountants Hall on 9 September ahead of the Conservative Party conference next month.

The event was a statement of intent for the Conservative Party under Badenoch, following Reform’s Conference and the government’s Cabinet reshuffle last week. Asked by CEO Alan Vallance what she would prioritise if she was setting the next Budget, Badenoch said that she would prioritise any levers that encouraged risk taking, adding that she believed that the UK has turned into a country that is afraid to take risks.

“We've created a zero risk environment, and without risk, there is no reward. So we need to stop punishing people or taking risks, and we need to stop assuming that growth will just be there as long as government is setting rules.”

In his speech to open the event, Alan Vallance stressed how important it was for politicians to engage with the business community to ensure that the UK achieves the growth that it needs. “We encourage all policy makers to engage carefully with business, to see what business is telling them. Our 170,000 members don’t just understand the economy - they shape it: 84% of FTSE 100 boards have an ICAEW member at the table; three million businesses across the UK are advised by our members every day - from the smallest start-ups to our largest global firms.

“For the past 20 years we have surveyed those members regularly for our Business Confidence Monitor and the data we’re getting back is clear. Confidence is at a three-year low, and firms of all sizes are grappling with rising costs and complex rules that make everyday decisions harder. If the UK needs growth to turn around its economy, it will be led by business, and businesses must be given what they need to succeed.”

Earlier, Badenoch said that red tape is overburdening businesses and that it wasn’t being sufficiently addressed. This was also holding back growth, she said. “You talk to a business, especially a small business, they complain about even the local council bringing in more and more regulations for them to comply with. We may see the businesses that close, but we never see the ones that don’t start in the first place. So it's quite critical that we reduce the burden of regulation.”

Vallance asked about her party’s solution to the UK’s low growth. Badenoch suggested a combination of deregulation and long-term certainty was key, “not just certainty for the next year or until the next budget".

When asked about tax, Badenoch said that the conversation about tax and government spending needed to be more honest. “Pretending that we can always do every single thing that we did before without changing, is dishonest.”

The world is changing rapidly, and this will require a rethink in how the UK approaches taxation and public spending, she said. The ageing population and aggressive economic competition from fast developing nations requires less complacency and, ultimately, compromises: “One of the things that I often say is that there are no perfect solutions, there are only trade-offs.”

Vallance asked how a Conservative government would engage with the business community. Badenoch stressed a desire to really listen to what business had to say, citing conversations about the impact of certain policies on business that left her “horrified”. “We need to get business actually involved in writing policy, in helping design policy.”

Creating jobs and profit is corporate social responsibility, she said, building a healthier economy. “Of course, we should be alive to vested interests and those who don't want competition… But if we listen to business and listen to them explain what the consequences of certain policy decisions will be, we’ll end up in a much better place.”

The other critical, long-term issue for the UK is low productivity. While Badenoch felt that public sector productivity was the biggest problem for the UK, talk turned to the role of technology in boosting productivity and what it might mean for jobs.

“Earlier this year, we had Jeremy Hunt's suggestion that AI was going to replace accountants and that they should become doctors instead,” said Vallance. “Actually, a couple of days later, Bill Gates then came out and said that AI would replace doctors and teachers. So I think it's a bit difficult at the moment. Joking aside, there are some really challenging issues, and it's certainly true that I think that AI will change many roles, some positively, some less so.”

Addressing this point, Badenoch said that she believed accountants had nothing to worry about. “I think we all need to speak to a human being for professional advice. If an AI gives you the wrong answer, you can’t take it to court. There's no liability there. So I would rather speak to a qualified professional, preferably from ICAEW.”

Badenoch drew on her experience as a software engineer when speculating on the wider role of AI in society and the economy. Badenoch cited the dotcom bubble as an example of how the importance of technology is always overestimated in the short term, but added that its long-term impact is always underestimated.

“I think that it's too soon to say exactly what AI will do to every single industry. It will help many. It might destroy some. What we need to do is make sure that everyone is educated to a point where they can cope with that.”

This is why a proper skills plan for the UK is needed, she added, emphasising the need for a skills strategy that focuses on more routes than just university. “I have two degrees. I did one in engineering, I did one in law. But a lot of people don't know I also did an apprenticeship. And actually, it's all I did during the apprenticeship that I remember most.

“I can’t remember everything from my law degree, but I do remember how to build a computer.”

Badenoch also praised the professional services sector, and chartered accountants specifically, for their fiscal responsibility and positive influence on business.

“No one understands the need to live within your means better than accountants… The rules of economics are stubborn, and if you ignore them, they have a way of catching up for you. No one knows better than accountants that you cannot spend what you do not have,” she said.

She also offered to work with the current government on welfare reform. “I hope that the Prime Minister will put our country before his party and agree to work across the aisle.”

“I’m delighted the Leader of the Opposition chose to make a speech on business and the economy to our members at Chartered Accountants’ Hall,” said Vallance. “We are proud to be leading the debate on the issues that matter to business and members, and as we have set out in our strategy, Direction 2030. We’ll continue to engage with senior policymakers of all political stripes.”